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Middle East

24. Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the middle east peace process. [125227]

25. Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the situation in the middle east peace process. [125228]

Mr. Hain: The Middle East Peace Process is at a crucial stage. On the Palestinian track, negotiations continue in the US. We continue to work for a conflict- ending agreement this summer.

On the Syrian track, we are watching developments closely following the death of President Asad. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended his funeral last week and met his son, Bashar. We believe Syria remains committed to the peace process and look forward to continuing Syrian and Israeli efforts to reach agreement.

We welcome UN confirmation that Israel has withdrawn fully from Lebanon. We shall continue to work hard with the UN and countries in the region to maintain calm and stability in southern Lebanon.

32. Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received about the middle east peace process. [125237]

Mr. Hain: We are in frequent contact with all the parties. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met a number of interlocutors, including Bashar al-Assad, at the condolence ceremony for the late President Assad on 13 June.

Angola

26. Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effect of UN sanctions in Angola on the operational activities of UNITA. [125231]

Mr. Hain: UN sanctions are making it harder for UNITA to continue fighting and put pressure on UNITA to return to the negotiating table. We commend the work of the Expert Panel of the UN Angola Sanctions Committee in investigating violations of the sanctions and developing recommendations on tightening implementation. The UK strongly supported the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1295 on 18 April. The resolution welcomes the Panel's report, stresses the obligations of all member states to comply with the measures against UNITA and expresses the readiness of the Council to consider action in relation to states it determines to have violated those measures. This shows the determination of the international community to make sanctions bite.

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Plan Colombia

28. Mr. Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Plan Colombia and the part the United Kingdom can play in its development. [125233]

Mr. Battle: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier in the House today to my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), Official Report, columns 150-51.

Burma

30. Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Burma. [125235]

Mr. Battle: We are deeply concerned at the lack of any prospects towards democratisation in Burma, as well as at the serious violations of human rights there. We are at the forefront of international action to press the military regime to improve the situation and to enter into dialogue with democratically elected Burmese leaders.

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will introduce investment sanctions against Burma. [126908]

Mr. Battle: There is no consensus within the European Union or the United Nations for investment sanctions at the moment, nor do we have any plans to introduce such measures. But we do discourage trade and investment in Burma by UK companies. In March, I met the Chief Executive of Premier Oil, and made clear to him our deep concern about their investment in Burma and that we would welcome their moving out as soon as and to the fullest extent that they lawfully can. We regularly give business inquiries a statement on the nature of the Burmese regime and the state of the economy.

The European Union has recently adopted a freeze on funds held by members of the Burmese regime. We will continue to press the regime in other fields too: for example the ILO has just agreed to adopt unprecedented measures against the regime in an effort to stop forced labour.

EU Enlargement

31. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be on the agenda in respect of enlargement at the forthcoming European Council meeting; and if he will make a statement. [125236]

Mr. Vaz: As the hon. Member may know, the European Council took place yesterday and today. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will be making a statement on the outcome to the House tomorrow.

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British policy on the enlargement of the European Union. [125230]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier in the House today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Crausby), Official Report, column 141.

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Ukraine

33. Ms Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral relations with Ukraine. [125239]

Mr. Vaz: Bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Ukraine are very good. We engage with Ukraine in a broad range of activity and maintain close contacts at working and ministerial level. I had three meetings with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Borys Tarasyuk, in 1999 and visited Kiev in April this year. I have invited Mr. Tarasyuk to pay an official visit to the United Kingdom in early 2001. The newly established UK-Ukraine Consultative Mechanism provides an additional channel for regular dialogue between 10 Downing Street and the President's Administration.

Diamond Trade (Africa)

35. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in stopping trading in diamonds which fuels conflict in Africa. [125241]

Mr. Hain: The Government are committed to curbing the trade in diamonds which fuels conflict in Africa. We fully support UN Security Council resolution 1173 (1998) which prohibits the import from Angola of diamonds not controlled through the Angolan Government's Certificate of Origin regime. We have tabled a draft UN Security Council Resolution which would ban the import of uncertified diamonds from Sierra Leone.

BBC World Service

36. Mr. Rammell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the BBC World Service in north America. [125242]

Mr. Hain: The BBC World Service broadcasts to North America as it does to other parts of the world. Its radio audience in Canada is a third of a million. In the USA it is 2.7 million. This figure represents significant growth, and has been achieved mainly through the establishment of local rebroadcasting partnerships. World Service activity world-wide is monitored against targets and is subject to periodic review with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Russia

37. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the UK's bilateral relations with Russia. [125243]

Mr. Vaz: Our relations with Russia are in good shape. We want to do what we can to encourage a democratic and stable Russia. The key is critical engagement. We should not isolate Russia, nor should we shy away from issues on which we disagree, such as Chechnya.

EU (French Presidency)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings he has

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had with the Government of France to discuss its presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [125223]

Mr. Vaz: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular contact with his French counterpart, M. Vedrine, on a number of issues, including the French Presidency of the European Union. He is next due to discuss the Presidency with M. Vedrine on 21 June. I also met Pierre Moscovici, the French Minister for Europe, in Santa Maria da Feira to discuss the Presidency.

Czech Republic

Mr. Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about relations between the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. [125225]

Mr. Vaz: The UK enjoys excellent relations with the Czech Republic. The Czech Defence Minister is in the UK today. And my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will visit Prague in July. We are close NATO allies, and the UK fully supports the Czech application for EU membership.

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